Bite situations don't happen "out of the clear blue." A dog will display precursor behavior (that a bite may occur) the owner didn't initially recognize. In most cases, the dog has a heightened sense of fear to a stimulus (people and/or other dogs for example) or attempts to retain possession of a resource (food, balls, toys and/or you).
The dog “appears” to react in an aggressive manner to keep the unwanted stimulus away. If they aren't successful, the fear biter has one last option, to bite. Since biting is a stress reliever for a dog, they are handling the stress in the only way they know. They are simply attempting to keep themselves safe.
When dogs become aroused, they can no longer think, only react. A defensive acting dog (growling, lunging, snipping, biting, etc.), learned this type of behavior worked for them previously. It made the stimulus go away. Therefore, as they rehearse the defensive behavior, they get better at displaying it.
If one responds to the heightned sense of defensiveness by correcting the dog (jerks on neck collar, yelling, electronic collar, etc.), it may look like the problem is solved but one has not worked on the underlying fear. Using corrections usually results in the dog not showing the precoursor behaviors (stressed looking body, growling, barking, etc.). When the dog can't submit to the stress any longer they will bite without warning because the humans taught him if he gave warnings he would be punished.
Michael works with the dog's underlying fear and helps the dog understand that the stressor is not as scary as the dog thinks by using Prevention, Management and Teaching. Without proper teaching and better management of their environment, these dogs will repeat and increase their defensive actions. Michael will help you develop a plan to reduce your dog's defensive behavior.
